Perpetrators of Belgorod region attack in Russia to be ‘destroyed like rats,’ says official

MOSCOW

Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that the perpetrators of sabotage in the Belgorod region in southwestern Russia must be "destroyed like rats and not even taken prisoner."

Speaking at a news conference in Vientiane, the capital of the Southeast Asian nation of Laos, Medvedev called Ukraine's "lies" claims that the sabotage attacks on Russia's territory had nothing to do with it.

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Monday that a group of Ukrainian troops launched an attack on several settlements in border territories. As a result, one person died, 12 were injured, and the authorities were forced to relocate residents of nine settlements.

However, a group calling itself the "Freedom of Russia Legion" or "Russian Volunteer Corps," a paramilitary group made up of Russian citizens based in Ukraine, said in a Telegram post that they had "liberated" a settlement in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine.

"Responsibility for it is on the Kyiv regime, and ultimately on its sponsors overseas, that is, Washington and the countries of the European Union, along with affiliated states like Britain and others. This is their responsibility, direct and immediate," Medvedev said in a video post on Telegram.

He referred to the sabotage perpetrators as "thugs."

"The only question is what to do with them. They should be destroyed like rats and not even taken captive," he threatened.

When asked about the possibility of a nuclear apocalypse, Medvedev, who has also served as Russian president, said it is directly dependent on the type of weapons supplied to Ukraine.

"The more destructive these weapons are, the more likely the scenario of what is commonly called a nuclear apocalypse becomes," he noted, adding that any actions aimed at strengthening the military component of the Kyiv regime lead to a prolongation of the military conflict.

He also criticized AUKUS and QUAD military blocs, saying they have "unfriendly characters" in relation to the Asia-Pacific region because they are affiliated with NATO.

AUKUS is a trilateral security pact established in 2021 by Australia, the UK, and US, while QUAD stands for Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a format created to address security issues by Australia, India, Japan, and the US.